A Time for Family (and Pancakes)
by AQueenoftheStars
Summary: Thievery, breakfast sweets, and frowny-faced stars. Yep, it's Christmas. PPG/RRB


Notes: HELLO! Been a while! I missed you all! I hope you've have all had a great and wonderful and incredible year and in particular a fantastic holiday season. Here is a little something that clings just a little longer to that Christmas spirit. Originally for PPG Hub Drabble's Contest. Cheers!

**A Time for Family (and Pancakes) ~ One-Shot**

_Ring, ring, ring!_

Bubbles rolled over, ignoring the blare of her telephone. She slid her arms beneath the cool underside of her pillow and pressed her face against it to hide from the noise.

_Ring, ring, ring!_

Warm hands enveloped her waist as Boomer pulled her close.

"What time is it?" She felt the words hum against her neck, his voice muffled by sleep.

Bubbles shrugged as the phone finally fell silent and snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

A handful of minutes passed before…

_Tale as old as time, true as it can be._

Boomer groaned and rolled away from her, hiding his head beneath his pillow.

_Barely even—_

Bubbles sat up pouting. She grabbed her cellphone off the bedside table and flipped it open.

"Yes, Blossom?" Her normally cheerful voice was flat and groggy.

"Bubbles! Go to your living room!" Blossom's voice was authoritative as usual, but the strange request snapped the blonde from her dazed state.

_Ring, ring, ring!_

The home phone went off again as Bubbles slipped off the bed. From the corner of her eye, she saw Boomer's arm fling out and grab the receiver as she slipped her arms into a sweater and headed to their living room.

The sight was astounding.

Bubbles, already an extreme lover of holidays, enjoyed any excuse to decorate. This year she'd purchase the fattest Christmas tree the lot had in stock and weighed down it's many branches in bright, colorful lights and shining baubles. Stockings hung from the small fireplace, one each for Boomer, Octi, and herself, and throughout the house small ornaments, lights and toy reindeer peeked out from the corners.

However, her living room no longer contained her chubby tree and its litter of presents at the foot, but instead was crammed full with three trees and a small mountain of presents that hid her couch from view.

"What the…"

The sight was so surprising that Bubbles dropped her phone, ending the call with her redheaded sister.

Behind her, she heard Boomer's footsteps approaching. The sound snapped her out of her daze and she bent to retrieve her phone, meaning to call her sister back.

"Brick just call—whoa." was Boomer's response to the new appearance of their living room. He looked at his blonde roommate and asked, "Isn't three trees a little much?"

Bubbles scrunched her eyebrows at him. "I didn't—"

She was cut off by her cellphone, which had begun to sing again.

_Because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's—_

"Buttercup?" Bubbles answered, still in shock. She glanced at the two new trees. One was almost as large her own and was covered in gold garlands, and red and white ornaments, the gleaming star on top bent at a jaunty angle against the ceiling. The other was smaller and more sparsely decorated. Chocolate green-and-brown striped candy canes hung on the branches along with black baubles, and the silver star on top had a sad face drawn on it in marker.

"Bubbles! They took it! They took everything! I'm going to murder them, those no good, dirty…" Buttercup continued cursing the thieves, using language that Bubbles was certain Blossom would not approve of.

"Did they get you too?" Buttercup asked at length, once she'd used every dirty word in her vocabulary.

Bubbles, who was now examining the presents piled atop her sofa—the bigger boxes perfectly wrapped in shining crimson and gleaming gold, then her own gifts which were just as opulently wrapped in blues and silvers, and then the many brown gift bags and a few oddly shaped lumps wrapped in newspaper—responded hesitantly to her sister.

"Uh…I think you should come over here."

With a huff of frustration and a "Dammit!" Buttercup hung up the phone.

Bubbles looked down at the dark screen of her phone and then up at Boomer.

"Did you…?" She began, before heavy pounding started on the door.

_BAM, BAM, BAM._

Bubbles hurried towards the sound and wrenched the front door open to find a frantic Blossom.

"Are you alright!" Blossom threw her arms around her sister. Releasing Bubbles, Blossom held her at arms length and examined her. "You hung up! What happened! Did they get you…"

Blossom's voice died as she looked past Bubbles into the overly stuffed living room.

"But…My tree?" Blossom floated by her sister into the house, gaping at the appearance of her tree and presents.

The roar of an engine announced Brick's arrival and he stormed out of his car and up the driveway, yelling as he went.

"Dammit, woman! I told you driving would be just as fast! I can't believe…" Brick's monologue died on his lips as he reached Blossom's side.

A second engine and the sound of two slamming doors filled the silence, and a moment later, Buttercup and Butch entered the house.

"Hey, what is everyone doing here?" Buttercup asked angrily, pushing Boomer aside to get a better look. Her green eyes grew wide and she pointed at the small Christmas pine. "Hey! My tree!" Buttercup's indignation seemed to break the spell.

Blossom finally spoke. "And mine," she added as she turned to her blonde haired sister. "And our presents."

Bubbles held her hands out as Buttercup turned to look at her as well. "Don't look at me! I woke up when she called!" She pointed at Blossom.

Brick glanced at Butch, who looked up, having been searching through the presents for his name, and the two nodded in agreement before turning to stare at Boomer.

The girls, catching this motion, set their sights on him as well.

"_What?_" Boomer asked to the five sets of eyes on him.

Butch groaned and pushed the presents aside to make space for him to sit. This caused Blossom to run over and catch the smattering of scarlet and gold boxes that came tumbling down.

"Hey! Watch it!" One of the many packages fell from her arms into Butch's lap and he grabbed it.

"Look! This one's for me."

Brick, who was shaking his head at the ridiculous antics of his blonde brother, grabbed the parcel out of Butch's hand.

"These are for Christmas, idiot. Wait."

"Actually," Bubbles began, taking her eyes off the confused gaze of her boyfriend and glancing at the phone still in her hands. "It's technically Christmas."

Brick, checked his watch.

_4:15 am_

"Whoo!" Butch cheered and grabbed his present, ripping off the wrapping paper.

Buttercup cuffed him over the head with her fist. "Wait for everyone else, " she snapped rifling through the presents herself.

Blossom sighed and began sorting through the gifts in her arms, making piles for each individual. Brick threw one last annoyed look at Boomer and pushed Butch onto the floor, so he himself could sit.

Bubbles brightened. "At least we're all together for Christmas! Oh, I'll make pancakes!" The blonde girl floated into the kitchen.

Boomer remained at the entrance to the living room, surprise and confusion on his face. "But I didn't do…" he muttered.

No one heard him.

"Bubbles, those pancakes were fantastic."

"Thanks, Blossom. And thank you so much the necklace! I'm going to wear it today!"

"Hey, Brick, here's your jacket."

"Don't think you're out of trouble, Boomer."

"But, I _told _you, I didn't…"

"Oh man, I think I'm gonna pop."

"Yeah, you're looking a little chunky there—OW!"

Butch rubbed his arm where Buttercup had punched him. "Jeeze, Buttercup, can't take a joke?"

Bubbles chuckled behind her sister on the driveway, "You never make fun of a lady's weight."

Buttercup crossed her arms and smirked. "Yeah, or she'll deck you."

Blossom rolled her eyes and cracked a smile, as Brick stepped beside her. He caught her eye and looked pointedly at his car.

"Oh, haha, well," Blossom, turning slightly pink, took the hint and turned back to her sisters. "Thanks again for breakfast and the gifts," she gave them each a hug, maneuvering around the bundle in her arms.

Brick nodded to each of his brothers, giving a Boomer another glare, before the two red heads walked towards his car.

Bubbles gave Buttercup a knowing look as the car roared to life and sped away in a crimson blur. Buttercup grimaced.

"I guess we'd better jet too," Buttercup told her sister.

Bubbles pulled her and Butch into a tight hug. "Ok, but promise you'll come to dinner on New Year's. Blossom already got off of work!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Buttercup replied, grabbing Butch's sleeve and pulling him towards her black sedan.

Bubbles squealed happily and threw her arm around Boomer, who was still muttering about being blamed for everything, and the two disappeared inside.

Buttercup dropped her gifts into her trunk and slid into the driver's seat.

"Well, that was unexpected," she said, once Butch had sat beside her and dumped his own pile into the backseat.

"Yeah, that stupid brother of mine," he said, his gaze out the window.

Buttercup turned the key and the engine purred to life, but her eyes were far away.

"It's weird though…It's like he read my mind."

Butch turned towards her, his eyebrows raised.

"I mean, I was kinda wishing that we could spend Christmas all together. I feel like I haven't seen everybody together at all lately. What with Blossom's new job and Bubbles working overtime for the holidays… Even Boomer and Brick don't show up as often as they used to..." Buttercup stopped speaking and gave herself a tiny shake, before smirking at Butch. "Well, I guess your dumb brother's just a sap," she said teasingly. She shifted out of park, her foot on the clutch, and pulled away from the curb.

As they stopped at the light, her voice took on that far away quality once more.

"It was…nice though…" She stopped speaking as the light before them turned green, and with her eyes on the road, she couldn't see the way Butch turned to the window and smiled.


End file.
